Uninspiring economic data and a sliding Chinese yuan added to the bearish mood.

India also boosting its imports of Russian crude and coal, with both Asian giants taking advantage of the discounts on offer.

Coking coal imports from Russia jumped to 2.5 million tons in September, from about 900,000 tons in the same month last year.

China buys about half of Codelco's production and also accounts for about half of global copper consumption, which analysts estimate will be around 25 million tonnes this year.

Tsingshan is talking to brokers about starting to increase its position on the London Metal Exchange as a hedge for its own nickel output.

The Chinese copper market is at its tightest in more than a decade as traders pay massive premiums for immediate supplies.

Analysts at JPMorgan still expect prices to fall in the short term.

The average daily output was equivalent to 13 million tonnes, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.